The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle - The Boston Globe 6 BCBS Island Run powered by Boston.com The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle E-MAIL FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ LINKEDIN 6 ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE By Matt Rocheleau GLOBE STAFF MARCH 07, 2017 The city of Boston on Tuesday unveiled its transportation blueprint for the next decade-plus. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/07/the-transportation-projects-boston-wants-tackle/mTGnryBsWIn1EzIGC90vFP/story.html[8/5/2017 4:43:28 PM] The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle - The Boston Globe One highlight of the comprehensive, 228-page plan, called Go Boston 2030 Vision and Action Plan, is its outline of 58 projects and policies the city hopes to implement, or at least advocate for. Proposals include: launching new ferry routes, protecting MBTA stations and roadways from rising seas, extending the Orange Line to Roslindale and the Green Line to Hyde Square, and creating a single chip card or mobile phone payment option to pay for a host of transportation services from the MBTA to Zipcar, Uber, Hubway, E-ZPass, and parking meters. Click the names of the projects and policies listed in the table below to see more details about each item, as worded in the city’s report. (The column on the left lists policies outlined in the city report, the middle column shows projects the city hopes to tackle in the near-term, and the column on the right lists projects the city considers long-term tasks. An asterisk (*) denotes that the city considers that item to be a “top” policy or project.) Policies Projects: 0 to 5 years away Projects: 5 to 15+ years away Climate Adaptation Requirements Walk- and Bike-Friendly Main Streets * Urban Rail Extension to Roslindale Square Development-Financed Funds for Neighborhood Mobility microHUBs* Green Line Extension to Hyde Square Multimodal Transportation Pedestrian-First Traffic Signals Priority Corridors and Safe Crossings* Longwood Transit Hub Public Realm Plan Neighborhood Slow Streets Fairmount Indigo Line Service Improvements* Performance-based Meter Pricing Better Bike Corridors Fairmount Indigo Line Urban Rail* Expanded Demand Management Bikeshare Network Expansion LMA to JFK Rapid Bus via Dudley and Program and TDM Office Uphams Flexible Lanes Repurposed by Time of Forest Hills to Roslindale Square Rapid Mattapan to LMA Rapid Bus* Day Bus Bus Service Reliability Improvements* Dorchester Ave Complete Street (South Improved Silver Line: Dudley to Boston) Downtown Restructure All Bus Routes* Washington St/Columbus Ave Complete Oak Square to Comm Ave Improved Bus https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/07/the-transportation-projects-boston-wants-tackle/mTGnryBsWIn1EzIGC90vFP/story.html[8/5/2017 4:43:28 PM] The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle - The Boston Globe Street (JP/Roxbury) Corridor Green Line Improvements Neighborhood Complete Street Seaport to Dorchester/Widett Urban Rail Corridors Consolidated Smart Shuttle System Fairmount Greenway Neighborways Inner Harbor Expansion Key to the City Smart Signal Districts* Dudley Square Transit Hub Fair MBTA Fare Policy and Extended Green Links Network Massachusetts Avenue Rapid Bus Service Hours Autonomous Vehicle Policy* Columbia Road Greenway* Multiuse Path Extension to the Blue Hills Boston Metro Transit District Commonwealth Avenue beyond North Station to South Boston Waterfront Packards Corner Rapid Bus* SW Corridor Extension to Back Bay and I-90 Newton Urban Rail MGH Summer Street Protected Bike Lane Climate Protection for Vulnerable MBTA Stations Silver Line Termini at Downtown West Station Transit Hub Crossing and South Station Smart Signal Corridors* West Station Rapid Bus to LMA, Kendall, and Harvard Square Orange Line and Red Line Service South Station Expansion Improvements Sullivan Square Enhanced Transit Hub Morrissey Boulevard Resilient Complete Street Smart High-Occupancy-Vehicle Lanes on Interstates Climate Adaptation Requirements Type: Policy https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/07/the-transportation-projects-boston-wants-tackle/mTGnryBsWIn1EzIGC90vFP/story.html[8/5/2017 4:43:28 PM] The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle - The Boston Globe View Story Boston to unveil transportation plan for future The proposal calls for fewer cars on the road, heavy reliance on public transit, and lots of “microhubs.” Where: Local Timeframe: Five years Description: City transportation contracts will require analysis of climate impacts — Future designs for Boston streets will include a two-part evaluation and analysis that The 58 looks at how climate change will affect the street based on its geography and other design characteristics, as well as transportation how the design of the street could influence the effects of projects Boston climate change on the surrounding neighborhood. A demonstrated understanding of how stormwater, heat, and wants to tackle coastal flooding could affect a roadway under future climatic conditions and of how the roadway could contribute to reducing the effects of climate change on the surrounding neighborhood will generate appropriate site-specific responses ranging from innovative design to regrading to bioswales to new pavement materials. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/07/the-transportation-projects-boston-wants-tackle/mTGnryBsWIn1EzIGC90vFP/story.html[8/5/2017 4:43:28 PM] The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle - The Boston Globe (Back to top) Development-Financed Funds for Multimodal Transportation Type: Policy Where: Local Timeframe: Ongoing Who’s responsible: BTD in collaboration with the BPDA and the Environment Department Description: Incentivize more non-auto travel and infrastructure as part of new land developments — Development projects in Boston with more than 50,000 square feet of floor area are currently required to file a Transportation Access Plan Agreement (TAPA) with BTD. Initiating a mitigation fund from large developers that would be pooled to comprehensively improve sustainable transportation choices in a neighborhood, district, or corridor could support more substantive investments in employer-based demand management programs, transit related improvements, protected bike facilities, walkability improvements, etc., than any single developer can provide independently. A shared funding pool also helps remove the association of a single development with traffic impacts that have been created over time by many developments, fostering a shared investment in needed multimodal solutions. (Back to top) Pedestrian-First Traffic Signals Type: Policy Where: Local Timeframe: Ongoing Who’s responsible: BTD is developing new traffic signal policies to build on existing work such as https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/07/the-transportation-projects-boston-wants-tackle/mTGnryBsWIn1EzIGC90vFP/story.html[8/5/2017 4:43:28 PM] The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle - The Boston Globe installing LPIs Description: Make walk-signals intuitive and give people walking a head start — Every trip begins and ends with at least a short walk. Our traffic signals and intersection designs will recognize the importance of supporting people on foot by shortening wait times at crossings and making signals adapt in real time to pedestrian behavior and flows. Automatic pedestrian phases–not requiring people to push a button–will be standard, as will countdown timers with audible indications for those with hearing impairment. Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI’s) will allow people to start crossing the street and be seen before cars are permitted to move or turn with a green light, reducing incidents of right-turning vehicles hitting or startling walkers. Walk signals will be shown on every intersection leg at any phase when there are not conflicts with oncoming cars. A “Don’t Walk” will only be shown when the traffic is about to be released, allowing more time for more people to cross safely. (Back to top) Public Realm Plan Type: Policy Where: Local Timeframe: Ongoing Approx. cost: Determined by project, approximately $500,000 for design and construction per year Potential funding sources: City capital plan and developer funding Who’s responsible: BTD with Public Works, BPDA, and Boston Arts Commission Description: Short- and long-term neighborhood public space projects — There are many potential improvements to the streets, sidewalks, and plazas across the City that will make them more welcoming to pedestrians, engaging for visitors, and inviting for people needing somewhere to wait. BTD, in conjunction with other City departments, hopes to activate and improve areas across the city with placemaking, public art, green infrastructure, and wayfinding. Building upon successful initiatives like those in Hyde Square in Jamaica Plain or at the Tontine Crescent in downtown Boston, https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/07/the-transportation-projects-boston-wants-tackle/mTGnryBsWIn1EzIGC90vFP/story.html[8/5/2017 4:43:28 PM] The 58 transportation projects Boston wants to tackle - The Boston Globe pilot tests for plazas and streetscape improvements will happen annually. Guidelines for community members to follow for installing parklets, painting street murals, and prototyping with other tactical interventions citywide will also be forthcoming. (Back to top) Performance-based Meter Pricing Type: Policy Where: Local Timeframe: Ongoing Potential funding sources: BTD operating budget Who’s responsible: BTD and MONUM Description: Set differentiated parking